Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire,[note 1] also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was
the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the
Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of
the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional
thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its
existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in
Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of
the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire simply as the Roman Empire, and to
themselves as Romans[note 2]—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into
Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern
historians distinguish Byzantium from its earlier incarnation because it was centered on
Constantinople, oriented towards Greek rather than Latin culture, and characterised by Eastern
Orthodox Christianity.
 Byzantine Empire
 Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων (Ancient Greek)a

Imperium Romanum (Latin)

286/395–1453b

Chi Rho, a common representation of Double-headed eagle, the most representative symbol that came
the early Byzantine Empire into use in the mid to late Byzantine Empire

The empire in 555 under Justinian the Great, at its greatest extent since the fall of the Western Roman
Empire (its vassals in pink)

The territorial evolution of the Eastern Roman Empire under each imperial dynasty until its fall in 1453.
Capital Constantinoplec

Common languages Greek[1]
Latin
Regional / local languages

Religion Roman polytheism (former)

Eastern Christianityd
Eastern Orthodoxye
Minority: Islam and Judaism

Demonym(s) Rhōmaîoi
Notable emperors  
• 286–305 Diocletian (first)
• 306–337
• 402–450 Constantine
Theodosius III
• 474–475, 476–491 Zeno
• 527–565 Justinian I
• 582–602 Maurice
• 610–641 Heraclius
• 717–741 Leo III
• 797–802 Irene
• 867–886 Basil I
• 976–1025 Basil II
• 1081–1118 Alexios I
• 1143–1180 Manuel I
• 1261–1282 Michael VIII
• 1449–1453 Constantine XI
Historical era Late Antiquity to Late Middle Ages
• First division of the Roman Empire 1 April 286
• Founding of Constantinople 11 May 330
• Final East–West division after the 17 January 395
death of Theodosius I
• Fall of the West; deposition of Romulus 4 September 476
• Assassination of
9 May 480
Julius Nepos
• Early Muslim conquests; start of the Dark Ages 634–750
• Battle of Manzikert; loss of Anatolia due to 26 August 1071
following civil war
• Sack of Constantinople by Catholic crusaders 12 April 1204
• Reconquest of Constantinople 25 July 1261
• Fall of Constantinople 29 May 1453
• Fall of Morea 29 May 1460
• Fall of Trebizond 15 August 1461
Population
• 457 16,000,000f
• 565 26,000,000
• 775 7,000,000
• 1025 12,000,000
• 1320 2,000,000
Currency Solidus, denarius and hyperpyron

Preceded by Succeeded by
Roman Empire Ottoman Empire

a. ^ Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων may be transliterated in Latin as Basileia Rhōmaiōn, literally meaning

"Monarchy of the Romans", but commonly rendered "Empire of the Romans".
b. ^ Between 1204 and 1261 there was an interregnum when the Latin Empire took control of
Constantinople, causing the Byzantine Empire itself to be divided into the Empire of Nicaea, the
Empire of Trebizond, and the Despotate of Epirus. The Empire of Nicaea is considered by
 historians to be the legitimate continuation of the Byzantine Empire because it managed to
retake Constantinople.
c. ^ Constantinople became the capital of the (united) empire in 330. In 395 the empire was
permanently divided in two halves after the death of Theodosius I.
d. ^ Tolerated after the Edicts of Serdica (311) and Milan (313); state religion after 380.
e. ^ Following the East–West Schism of 1054.
f. ^ See Population of the Byzantine Empire for more detailed figures taken provided by McEvedy
and Jones Atlas of World Population History 1978 as well as Angeliki E Laiou The Economic

Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the
Roman Empire's Greek East and Latin West diverged. Constantine I (r. 324–337) reorganised the
empire, made Constantinople the capital and legalised Christianity. Under Theodosius I
(r. 379–395), Christianity became the state religion, and other religious practices were
proscribed. In the reign of Heraclius (r. 610–641), the empire's military and administration were
restructured, and Greek was gradually adopted for official use in place of Latin. The borders of
the empire fluctuated through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of
Justinian I (r. 527–565), the empire reached its greatest extent after re-conquering much of the
historically Roman western Mediterranean coast, including Africa, Italy and Rome, which it held
for two more centuries. The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 exhausted the empire's
resources, and during the early Muslim conquests of the 7th century, it lost its richest provinces,
Egypt and Syria, to the Rashidun Caliphate. It then lost Africa to the Umayyads in 698, before the
empire was rescued by the Isaurian dynasty.

During the Macedonian dynasty (9th–11th centuries), the empire expanded again and
experienced the two-century long Macedonian Renaissance, which came to an end with the
defeat by Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Civil wars and the ensuing Seljuk
invasion led to the loss of most of Asia Minor. The empire recovered during the Komnenian
restoration, and by the 12th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in
Europe. The empire was delivered a mortal blow during the Fourth Crusade, when
Constantinople was sacked in 1204 and the territories that the empire formerly governed were
divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms. Despite the eventual recovery of
Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small rival states in
the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were progressively
annexed by the Ottomans in the Byzantine–Ottoman wars over the 14th and 15th centuries. The
fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 marked the end of the Byzantine Empire.
Refugees fleeing the city after its capture would settle in Italy and other parts of Europe, helping
to ignite the Renaissance. The Empire of Trebizond was conquered eight years later, when its
eponymous capital surrendered to Ottoman forces after it was besieged in 1461. The last of the
Byzantine successor states, the Principality of Theodoro, was conquered by the Ottomans in
1475.

Nomenclature

History

Government and bureaucracy

Science and medicine

Culture

Economy

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links
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Last edited 6 hours ago by Dimadick